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As Mahrez snubs PSG for England, Arsenal make him top transfer target

Whether or not Arsene Wenger can persuade Riyad Mahrez to sign for Arsenal or convince the champions elect Leicester City to sell us the man just voted the PFA Player of the Year for this season is another matter, but i8f the Arsenal transfer rumours are right then the boss is at least going to try when the current season ends, according to a report in The Mirror.

The Frenchman does have some encouragement in his transfer pursuit of Mahrez as well, because the player himself told Sky Sports that despite the recent reports in the football press linking him with a possible move back to his home town of Paris to play for the super rich champions of France PSG, he has no intention of going and is determined to stay in the English Premier League.

The 25-year old said, “Even today I am not too excited about the prospect of PSG. It is my town, but I do not see myself going back.

“I don’t really want to go back to France. France does not really excite me, I love England.”

I am sure that the Gunners will not be the only EPL club alerted by these words and with the massive TV money deal meaning that the Foxes have no financial problems I would say that it will take one hell of an offer to get them to sell. Mahrez might not want to leave a good thing either and may feel that he wants at least one more season with them to take the fairytale into the Champions League.

But at least we can hope that Wenger and Arsenal will give it a go. What chance do we have of securing the transfer of this brilliant forward in the summer?

26 thoughts on “As Mahrez snubs PSG for England, Arsenal make him top transfer target”

Why come from the PL champions to 4th/5th place also rans?
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Maybe dollars and shopping in London for the wife‎..
Other than that, it makes no sense for him. He will be playing UCL within a well oiled machine and will have all and more than we can give him (apart from harrods and a small portion of stans ranch funds).

I know negativity is in fashion, but let’s not kid ourselves- Arsenal are the bigger club, he’d have teammates like Ozil, Cazorla & Sanchez- household names around the world, instead of Vardy, Drinkwater & Albrighton, Leicester will not replicate the same form next year with the addition of European competition to work the squad- flying around, extra midweek game. Let’s not find any opportunity for a dig, when it’s not called for!

Firstly we have many
midfielders already.
And a slew of youth
midfielders coming up.
Secondly if Mahrez is on the market won’t
the super rich clubs be after him?
He will cost minimum 20 mill and more
if a bidding war takes place.
Thirdly it is extremely rare for Wenger
to buy someone heavily publicly
linked to the club.
So I would say very unlikely.

1. The star player you are suggesting we pursue – is he unsettled at his current club? Would he be looking to move in the summer?

2. (And this is the most important factor) His club – are they looking to splash huge on another star player(s)? Probably one who plays in the same position as our player in question?

In the light of this discussion, we mustn’t forget that the process that got us our last three big buys (Ozil, Sanchez and Cech) was largely opportunistic. The transfer process in each of those case were driven by a plan to grab a star player who somehow became available on the market, more than the our desire to fill a specific positional/tactical need.

Off the top of my head, I can only think of four players that may fit into this category right now.

1. Mario Goetze – He hasn’t been settled at Munich for some time now. Also add the uncertainties of playing under a new manager, you have a player who could be looking to move. His age and versatility is the the upside for this player.

2. Karim Benzema -Especially if they end up not winning the Liga and UCL, Madrid will be looking to buy huge in the summer. There are already rumors Lewandowski is headed that way.

3. James Rodriguez – He finds himself in a similar situation as Benzema. He has kind of fallen out of favor with Zidane (and the club?). I think the club will be open to letting him go. His age and versatility is the the upside for this player, and he could be a good replacement for someone like Theo Walcott. At Porto, he often played at the right side of a front three.

4. Lukaku – He is leaving and nothing is going to stop him. Simple as.

But the player whom I’d really like us to pursue is Higuain. He is just what we need at CF. How we let him slip out of our hands the last time still surprises me. He will cost a A LOT. No indication he is unsettled at Napoli. And there will be many clubs competing for his signature if he decides he wants to experience England.

James, Isco and Goetze… Who would’ve predicted those three could be potentially surplus to requirements three years ago?… Laughable. Would take any of them in a heartbeat.
I see what you’re saying.. But I think a lot is to do with a domino effect, who’s shopping and who’s looking to replace who. Those players are unsettled now, but who knows if someone else is upgraded or a marquee signing is brought in in their place? (Sanchez and Ozil were more from the latter.)
There are soooooooo many big names that could potentially leave for a new club in the summer. It’s gonna be epic!!!

At the end of the day, Money talks!
There’s no guarantee that Leicester will do well next season, whats the odds on all the top premier league clubs having another faltering campaign?
In other words, there’s every chance that Leicester will cash in on their star players, they are new to the gravy train, buying players for 1 million and selling them on for £20 – 30 million!

Even if Mahrez does sign for Arsenal, in an AW team – he wont be able to manage playing 34 out of 35 games.Claudio Ranieri has managed to keep Mahrez fit but taking him before Full Time in most of his games.
AW somehow manages to drain good players. He even admitted to over playing JW in his early days.

Leceister will get raided this summer. Two, if not three of Vardy, Mahrez and Kante will leave for huge sums that a club like leceister simply can’t turn down.
Yes, it’s romantic to think they’ll stay together. But Vardy’s 29 and will be looking to secure the biggest contract of his career on the back of an immense season. Once he leaves the other two will follow suit with offers trippling their current wages.
From a club perspective, I don’t think it’s ridiculous they’d get 110mil+ (35mil Vardy, 40mil Kante, 45mil Mahrez) for all three. That’s a lot of money to invest in a squad with, with CL and a brilliant manager on offer.